Why Is It Important For An International Marketer To Study Culture - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2288 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Why is it important for an international marketer to study culture? Outline the main techniques available for undertaking cultural analysis? Where once marketers of goods or services may have targeted customers only in their domestic market, the globalisation of the business environment through improved technology, reduction in trade barriers and emergence of large multinational corporations (Palmer Hartley, 2002), means that the marketers of today may have the option to consider marketing internationally. It is posited that an international firm is one that expands from its domestic market into new markets, using its existing capabilities, and this differs from a multinational corporation (MNC) which may have units acting autonomously in several countries (Miroshnik, 2002). Globalisation is not a new concept, and has been seen as the standard for some time (Levitt, 1983). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Why Is It Important For An International Marketer To Study Culture" essay for you Create order Entry into a new international market is both an opportunity and a risk and may be achieved through a number of means, including exporting, direct investment, licensing, joint ventures and strategic alliances, each with varying levels of risk that the company must weight up prior to entry (Palmer Hartley, 2002). Once an entry decision has been made, it is posited that cultural analysis of the target country is imperative for this to be undertaken successfully (Morden, 1995). Management styles, strategies, technologies and structures appropriate to one culture, may be detrimental to the brand when used in a different culture (Miroshnik, 2002). The international marketer must consider what adaptation, if any, is required to its marketing mix (Palmer Hartley, 2002) and may use cultural analyses to determine to what extent current marketing programmes can be utilised, or how appropriate they would be to the new market (Kotabe Helsen, 2001). Indeed, recent studies appear to fa vour adaptation to the new culture, thus the interest of the international marketer in culture and its consequences continues to increase (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). It is suggested that the behaviours modelled by an individual will be the result of the prevailing cultural values within their society, their social class, reference groups (e.g. family and friends) and their individual physical and psychological attributes (Palmer Hartley, 2002, p 382). Notable contributors in the field of cultural knowledge include Hofstede, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars (Morden, 1995). Of use for the international marketer wishing to analyse the culture of a new country versus its domestic market are conceptual models which identify, classify and measure culture as specific dimensions, enabling a comparison to take place (Miroshnik, 2002). Herskovits’ (1989) five dimensions of culture are material culture, social institutions, men and universe, aesthetics and language and languag e (Miroshnik, 2002). Material culture concerns consumer demand, including quality and attributes of goods/services required and encompasses both economics and technology; the former looks at how a country makes use of its capabilities and technology concerns its production of goods and development techniques (Miroshnik, 2002). An understanding of material culture will be imperative for the international marketer in its marketing mix decisions; while considering whether the product/service meet local demands for quality and attributes, or whether there exists a capability for the product/service to be produced in the country. Many brands will adapt their product to suit the culture in that country, even if only slightly, an example would be Coca Cola and McDonald’s who adapt their products/menus to suit local tastes; McDonald’s also consider the experience, for example, in France where fast food was not as consistent with the culture of enjoying and taking time over food (Palmer Hartley, 2002). Social institutions include decision making, leadership styles and social class (Miroshnik, 2002). Social class may be particularly important to the international marketer, for example the Hindu caste system remains relatively stable throughout a Hindu’s life, with less likelihood of movement between social classes than in western societies and overall it is posited that those within a particular class will share common attitudes and behaviour patterns (Palmer Hartley, 2002). An understanding of the class system in the target country, and its similarities/differences to current countries will be paramount. Man and universe comprises religion and superstition, this could be very important to the marketer as religions, beliefs and practices can vary greatly between countries, for example superstitions are integral to Russian culture and religion is intrinsic to Arab and Asian business (Miroshnik, 2002). To be unaware of cultural sensitivities around this area could be detrimental to any international marketer. Aesthetics involves folklore, music, arts and visual/aesthetic/symbolic norms and whilst this dimension could be glossed over as simplistic or superficial, aesthetics can be extremely important to a culture and thus to the international marketer, for example it would be inadvisable to use a bat within branding in Russia as it is considered bad luck (Miroshnik, 2002). Finally, language as a dimension is to consider the nuances of what is said, unsaid, plus non-verbal communication (Miroshnik, 2002). Hofstede cultural dimensions The assumption that an employee working for a multinational with its own organisational culture will adopt that culture, rather than retain their individual pre-existing culture, was found not to be the case by Hofstede (1983), Miroshnik, 2002). Hofstede’s four dimensional model of national culture, introduced in the 1970’s, may be used to analyse cultural differences; it is posited that this allowed culture to be unwrapped from a single dimension into multiple dimensions (Minkov Hofstede, 2011). The dimensions are power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity and uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 1983). Hofstede’s cultural model shares similarities with the work of Trompenaars (1993) and the GLOBE study (House et al, 2004), a strong inducement for international marketers to use Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to analyse cultural distance is the large number of countries measured, enabling easy comparison (de Mooij Hofstede, 20 10). Power distance relates to the way the society deals with power distance including the importance and respect allotted to superiors, and conversely to subordinates (Hostede, 1983), also attitudes to inequality (Hofstede, 2006b). Luxury brands may be important in high power distance countries, as their acquisition would demonstrate to others that they are required to show deference (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). Individualism/collectivism concerns personal goals as opposed to collective or group goals (Hostede, 1983). Self-actualisation is important to consumers in individualist cultures and brands that help the consumer to promote their sense of self may do better than in collectivist cultures, where identity is linked to the social system they belong to (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). The more direct communication style suitable for an individualist culture may be deemed inacceptable in a collectivist culture, and they may respond more favourably to marketing that promotes collective benefits and family harmony (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). Of the four dimensions, Hofstede states that it is this dimension which has lessened in its impact, for example Japanese youth are more individualistic than their parents whilst they continue to mirror their parents in the other dimensions (Hofstede, 2006a). Masculinity-femininity classifies the cultures relative importance of what may be considered as more male characteristics such as advancement and success versus more traditionally feminine characteristics such as being nurturing (Hostede, 1983). The Netherlands have a more feminine culture with both men and women valuing the softer skills; this can impact upon marketing strategy as more feminine cultures may wish to communicate differently than masculine cultures (Hofstede, 2006a), for example a tour operator using travel agents or call centres more heavily in feminine cultures to allow more opportunity for direct communication. Also, it is posited that household chores such as shopping will be shared more in feminine cultures, thus the marketer must consider who will be making the buying decision; perhaps that target audience will be different from the domestic market. In masculine cultures, status brands may symbolise success and achievement (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). Uncertainty avoidance deals with anxiety relating to the unknown and the extent to which consumers within the culture would seek to avoid this uncertainty (Hostede, 1983); this would also include the expression of emotion and control of aggressive behaviours (Minkov Hofstede, 2011). In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, the ‘seal of approval’ from experts may be welcome within marketing, additionally this may impact upon the types of product that will be more successful in the country, for example, preventative medication is more prevalent in high uncertainty avoidance cultures (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). Hofstede added a fifth dimension in 1991, long versus short term orientation which relates to gratification deferment (Hofstede, 2006b) and cultural focus on the past, present or future (Minkov Hofstede, 2011), thrift may be more important to long term orientated cultures (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010) which could affect pricing decisions for international marketers. Hofstede’s dimensions are not without their critics; criticisms include incorrect characterisation of dimensions (Jacob, 2005) and that the dimensions are out of date with a lack of societal range in the sample (McSweeney, 2002)however Hofstede posits that the adoption of his dimensions into the mainstream as a cornerstone of cultural research (Minkov Hofstede (2011) has its disadvantages, namely that they may not be used as originally intended- as a means to discover differences in national culture (Hofstede, 2002). Like Hofstede, Trompenaars also looked at time orientation and individualism/collectivism, yet Trompenaars looked at a f urther five dimensions, namely universalism/particularism, affective/neutral relationships, specificity/diffuseness, achievement/ascription and internal/external control (Trompenaars, 1996)., Criticism of this typology hinge on its reduction of acomplex construct such as leadership style to two dimensions when the respondent may use both leadership styles in different circumstances, or indeed a different style altogether, but is forced to choose from one of two given styles (Jacob, 2005). The conceptual work of Hall (1976) considers cultures as being either high or low context, as a continuum of how much context matters in the culture, and may be used as a tool for international marketers to understand cultural differences and the management implications of the same (Kim et al, 1998). It is posited that a high context culture would have strong respect for social hierarchy, bonds between people would be strong, people may be more self-contained with feelings and messages may be simple but with deep meaning, examples of countries with a high context culture include Japan, China and Korea (Kim et al, 1998). In high context cultures personal relationship may be important in the business to business relationship (Kim et al, 1998), which would have important implications for the marketer, for example, how the relationships could be developed. Conversely, the low context country would be a more individual culture, messages may be more overt, and bonds between people may be more fragile and breakable should they be considered to be untenable; countries such as Switzerland, Norway and Sweden are considered to have low context cultures (Kim et al, 1998). The marketer in a low context culture may not have as much trouble acquiring customers, as they may have in retaining them. With the wealth of information gained from the various means of cultural analyses, the international marketer will then need to consider the impact upon its marketing strategy. Us ing Hofstede’s terminology, they may be currently marketing in an individualist culture and attempting to persuade through marketing, but it is suggested that this would be quite wrong if they were attempting to begin to market to a collectivist culture where inducing positive feelings about the brand and building trust would be paramount (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). What the international marketer should seek to achieve is congruence in the brand’s marketing set against the cultural norms of that country (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010). However, the international marketer must also take on board that culture will never be a ‘one size fits all’ descriptor for a country, as there will most likely be subcultures, for example the UK, with its distinctive subcultures (Palmer Hartley, 2002). Additionally, people may be members of more than one cultural group at one time- the traditional family culture, work culture, and perhaps even a different cultural grou p of friends (Jacob, 2006). Culture surrounds the consumer; to develop international marketing strategy without an understanding of it would be foolhardy (de Mooij Hofstede, 2010), equally, the international marketer undertaking cultural research based upon a single model of cultural analyses, subsequently assuming cultural homogeneity could be equally set upon the wrong path (Jacob, 2006). What is clear is that culture is by no means a simple concept, and is one that would require extensive research on the part of the international marketer. References: De-Mooij, M., Hofstede, G. (2010). The Hofstede model. Applications to global branding and advertising strategy and research. International Journal of Advertising. 29 (1), 85-110. Herskovits, E. (1989). Man and His Works. New York.:Knopf Hofstede, G. (1983). National cultures in four dimensions: a research based theory of cultural differences between nations. International Studies of Management and Organisation. XIII (1-2), 46-74. Hofstede, G. (2002). Dimensions do not exist: A reply to Brendan McSweeney. Human Relations. 55 (11), 1-7. Hofstede, G. (2006a). Geert Hofstede: Challenges of cultural diversity. Human Resource Management International Digest. 14 (3), 12-15. Hofstede, G. (2006b). What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers’ minds versus respondents’ minds. Journal of International Business Studies. 37, 882-896. Jacob, N. (2005). Cross cultural investigations: emerging concepts. Journal of Organizational Change Managemen t. 18 (5), 514-528. Kim, D., Pan, Y., Soo Park, H. (1998). High versus low context culture: a comparison of Chinese, Korean and American cultures. Psychology Marketing. 15 (6), 507-521. Kotabe, M., Helsen, K. (2011). Global Marketing Management: International Student Version. John Wiley Sons Levitt, T. (1983). The globalisation of markets. Harvard Business Review. May-June, 92-102. McSweeney, B. (2002). Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: A triumph of faith- a failure of analyses. Human Relations. 55 (1), 89- 118. Minkov, M., Hofstede, G. (2011). The evolution of Hofstede’s doctrine. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal. 18 (1), 10-20. Miroshnik, V. (2002). Culture and International Management: A Review. Journal of Management Development. 21 (7), 521-544. Morden, T. (1995). International Culture and Management. Management Decision. 33 (2), 16-21 Palmer, A., Hartley, B. (2002). The Business Environment. McGraw-Hill Education. Trompenaars, F. (1996). Resolving international conflict: culture and business strategy. Business Strategy Review. 7 (3), 51-68.

Global Warming And The Current Energy Source - 3554 Words

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You Suck A Love Story Chapter 16~17 Free Essays

string(26) " is strong with this one\." Chapter Sixteen Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Completely Fucked Servant of the Vampyre Flood OMFG-WOOT! I have failed, left my duty undone, like so much dog poop on the gloaming sidewalk of the tragedy that is my life. Even as I sit here at the Metreon Starbucks, writing this, the froth slaves seem to move like silver-eyed zombies and my nonfat, soy Amaretto Mochaccino has gone as bitter as snake bile. (Which is like the bitterest bile you can get. We will write a custom essay sample on You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 16~17 or any similar topic only for you Order Now ) If there wasn’t a totally hot guy two tables away, acting like he doesn’t notice me, I would weep – but real tears make your mascara run, so I’m staying chilly in my despair. Your loss, cute guy, for I have been chosen. Suffer, bitch! I had to leave Lord Flood to his own devices last night, but before I left, I confessed my undying love for him. I am a hopeless hose beast. All I had to do was say good-bye, but no, I just barked it out. It’s like he has this power over me – like I have an eating disorder and he’s a package of Oreo Double Stuff cookies. (I don’t have an eating disorder, I’m just skinny because I enjoy eating mass quantities and then yakking it back up. It’s not a body-image problem. I think my system has always wanted to live on a liquid diet, and until I’m brought into my Dark Lord’s loving embrace, then it’s Starbucks for me.) I have been trying to call my Dark Lord and the Countess all day on their cells, but I kept getting voice mail. Well, duh – they’re vampires. They won’t be answering the phone. I’m such a tard sometimes. So I went to the old loft early this morning, in fact even before dawn. I should be, like, made a Bronte sister for coming up with a story to get out of the house that early, but I wanted to talk to the master before his slumber. Thing was, the scary drunk guy and his huge cat were gone, but so were my master and the Countess. Everything had been moved except the statue of the turtle and the Countess. So I rolled out, headed for the new loft I rented, when I spotted two cops sitting in a POS brown car. I knew they were vampyre hunters right away. It must be the master’s dark powers rubbing off on me. There was a big fat gay cop and a sharp-faced Hispano-cop. So I was like, â€Å"Could you guys look any more like cops?† And they were like, â€Å"Move along, little lady.† So I was forced to point out to them that they were not the boss of me and then I proceeded to humiliate them by verbally bitch-slapping them until they cried. What is it about the crusties? Their minds work so slowly that you have to, like, prompt them to stand up so you can slap them again until they faint like the little wuss-bags that they are. I never want to be crusty. And I won’t be, because my Lord will bring me into the fold and I shall stalk the night for eternity, my beauty forever preserved as it is, except I’d like a little bigger boobs. Anyway, I wandered around on Market Street and up in Union Square to give the cops enough time to slink off to lick their wounds, then I returned to the master’s street to check the new loft. This time there was this Asian guy sitting across the street in a Honda, looking all Manga-cool, but it was obvious that he was watching the loft door. He didn’t look like a cop, but he was definitely watching, so I stopped and pretended to watch the sculptors work who have the space under the master’s old loft. They are these two crusty biker guys, but they do some amazing shit. They’d left the garage door open so I stepped in. They were putting dead chickens on wires and dipping them in silver paint, then hanging them on sticks by the wires. So I was all, â€Å"What the fuck, biker? What are you doing?† And one of them was like, â€Å"It’s almost the year of the cock.† And I was all), â€Å"Don’t be gross, you crustacious fuck. You pull that thing out and I’ll pepper-spray you until you fry.† (You have to be stern with weenie waggers – I’ve been exposed to on the bus over seventeen times, so I know.) And he was like, â€Å"No, it’s the year of the cock in the Chinese zodiac.† Which I knew, of course. â€Å"We’re making statues,† said the bigger biker, who was named Frank. (The other one’s name was Monk. He didn’t talk much, which might explain the name.) So they showed me how they took real dead roosters they bought in Chinatown, ran wires through them to pose them, then dipped them in a thin metallic paint, then put them in this big tank and attached electric clips to them. They pass some current through the clips and the current attracts bronze molecules or something to the metallic paint. It’s like instant bronze rooster. I thought about the statue of the Countess upstairs and got a little creeped out. So I’m all, â€Å"You ever do a person?† And they were like, â€Å"No way, that would be wrong. You’d better go now, because we’re behind and don’t you have school and stuff?† So walking out, I saw the Asian guy checking me out and I was like, â€Å"Hey, it’s almost the year of the cock. Shouldn’t you be out shopping for one?† He looked really nervous, but he kinda grinned. Then started his car and drove off, but he wants me, I can tell, so he’ll be back. I hope he wants me. He was so cute – in that Final Fantasy Thirty-Seven way. What I’m saying is, the Sex Fu is strong with this one. You read "You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 16~17" in category "Essay examples" So there was no sign of my Dark Lord or the Countess at the new place. I wonder if they have crawled under the earth in some park and satisfied their perverse desires with each other among the worms and the tree roots. Eww! Oh well, almost dark. I’d better go back to the loft and wait for them. Addendum: The lice shampoo didn’t work on my sister. Looks like we might have to shave her head. I’m going to try to talk her into getting a pentagram tattooed on her scalp. I know a guy in the Haight who will do it for free if you verbally abuse him while he’s tattooing. More later. Sundown. Jody awoke to pain and the smell of cooking meat. She rolled away from the source of the pain and went crashing through the acoustical ceiling tiles to land in a commercial sink full of dishes and soapy water. A Mexican guy was backing across the dish room crossing himself and invoking saints in Spanish as Jody climbed out of the sink and brushed suds off her jacket and jeans. When she touched the front of her thighs she nearly leapt back through the ceiling the pain was so sharp. â€Å"Mother-fuck-that-hurts!† she said, hopping around on one foot, because that will generally help all manner of pain, regardless of where it’s located on the body. Her boot heel clicking against the tiles sounded like a limping flamenco dancer. The dishwasher turned and bolted out of the dish room into the bakery. The bakery. When the alarm on her watch had threatened dawn she ran down the alley checking doors as she went, and the only one she found unlocked led into the stockroom of a bakery. She needed a place to hide where she’d be undisturbed while she slept, and although she considered hiding under a couple of the fifty-pound bags of flour, she had no way of knowing if the bakers would be using them today. She’d already awakened in a morgue once before (when Tommy had frozen her), and finding a rotund necrophiliac morgue attendant rubbing his hands and other bits over her seminaked body while she thawed had soured her to the whole morgue experience. No, she had to find someplace more secluded. One of the bakers had been coming into the stockroom, she could hear his voice and footfalls outside the door. She looked around for somewhere to hide, then spotted the grimy acoustic ceiling tiles suspended above. She leapt onto the pallet of flour, lifted a tile to see that the ceiling was suspended a full four feet below the structural ceiling. Bless old buildings. She grabbed a water pipe, pulled herself through the ceiling, jackknifed her legs up and around the pipe, then used her free hand to pull the ceiling tile back in place, all in less than two seconds. She listened as the man moved around below her, then scooped up one of the big bags of flour and left the room. That was a good call. She checked her watch. Less than a minute before she’d go out. She spotted four pipes running together parallel to the floor. They were slightly warm, which was why she could see them at all in the darkness, but each was two inches around and braced to the ceiling every few feet. They’d hold her. She scrambled over to the pipes, squirmed out of her leather jacket, and put it across the pipes, then lay facedown on top of it. This way, even if one of her legs slipped off, it wouldn’t pull her off the pipes. She was trying to wedge the toes of her boots into the gap between the pipes when she went out. The problem was that the pipes weren’t used that early in the morning. As the building awoke, hot water began coursing through them, and Jody had been subjected to the heat all day. Her jacket had protected her face and torso, but her thighs had been slow-cooked inside her jeans. She gritted her teeth and bolted through the dish room door into the back room of the bakery. So now it’s deserted. Of course, bakers work in the middle of the night and the early morning. At sundown the dishwasher would be the only guy still in the building. She found her way to the stockroom, then out into the alley. She could see the entries to both of their lofts from the end of the alley, and fortunately, no one appeared to be watching from the street. There were lights on in the new loft and she made her way to the door, her legs burning with every step. She listened at the door – did what she thought of as â€Å"reaching out.† If she focused she could almost hear shapes, depending on the ambient noise. There was someone in the loft – she could hear the heartbeat, industrial music playing in headphones, the shuffling of a body – a light body dancing. It was the kid, Abby Normal. Where in the hell was Tommy? He couldn’t be far from the loft – the sun had gone down only five minutes ago. Jody pounded on the door, but the shuffling sounds upstairs didn’t change rhythm, and she pounded again, this time leaving a dent in the metal door. Fuck, the kid has the headphones cranked and can’t hear a thing. Jody shivered, although not because of the cold, but because the hunger was rising in her. Her body telling her she needed to feed so she could heal. She’d only done it once before, and wasn’t sure she could pull it off again, but she needed to get into the loft and leave a lockable door intact. She concentrated as the old vampire had taught her, and gradually, she felt herself fading – going to mist. Monet was no longer dressed as the statue guy, no longer in character – not that character, anyway. Now he was the masta-blasta, gansta-rappa, full-ninja-badass and a bag of mothafuckin’ chips, bi-yatch – bent on revenge and whatnot. He’d given up midafternoon on making any money and had gone home to remove his makeup and lick his wounds. He’d taken a vicious ass-whuppin’ today, even if it was only to his ego. But now he was rolling with his homies, P.J. and Fly, they would put that bronze muthafucka down – if he was still around. If he didn’t run away like a little bitch. â€Å"You strapped?† Fly said, adjusting his do-rag as he drove his ten-year-old Honda Civic with rims worth more than the rest of the car. â€Å"Huh?† Monet inquired. â€Å"Do you have a weapon?† Fly said, enunciating all Royal Shakespeare Company precise. â€Å"Oh, yeah.† Monet pulled the Glock out of his waistband and showed it to Fly. â€Å"Nigga, put that shit down,† said P.J., who was in the backseat, wearing a Phat Pharm tracksuit that was four sizes too big for him. â€Å"Sorry,† Monet said, tucking the gun back into the waistband of his jeans. He’d borrowed the Glock – rented it, really – from a real gangsta in Hunter’s Point, who needed it back in two hours or he’d charge another twenty-five bucks. Before he gave Monet the gun, he made him swear that no one would be wearing gang colors, so nothing Monet did could come back on him. Monet had made the assurance, then, after P.J. did a Google search for gang colors, they settled on orange do-rags, since no gang seemed to claim that one. â€Å"Highway Safety Posse, yo,† Monet had said. â€Å"Yo, Stone Tangerine Thugs, yo,† suggested Fly. â€Å"Yo, yo, yo, check it out,† said P.J., with enough hand gestures that any deaf person watching would have thought he had ASL Tourette’s syndrome. â€Å"Cheesy Goldfish Crew.† â€Å"Yo, dog, that’s so stupid it’s not stupid,† Monet said. â€Å"Is that good?† asked Fly. â€Å"Yo, dog, get in character.† Fly was a bad actor. They were all in the same acting class. He should have just hired real gangsters to do this. P.J. was probably going to trip over the legs of his track pants and completely ruin their intimidation. â€Å"This is it,† Fly said, pulling off the street, right up onto the sidewalk of the Embarcadero by the Ferry Building. â€Å"That him?† â€Å"That’s him,† Monet said. There was no one around but the occasional passing car, but the new statue guy still stood there. â€Å"Remember,† Fly said. â€Å"Walk. Don’t run up. Just walk, like you got all the time in the world. Use your sense memories.† â€Å"Right, right, right,† Monet said. He and P.J. got out of the car and quickstepped across the bricks to where the statue guy was running his game. Damn, he was good, didn’t even flinch. As he reached the statue guy, Monet raised the Glock and the barrel connected with the statue’s forehead. â€Å"Bi-yatch!† There was a dull clank. â€Å"Whoa,† P.J. said. â€Å"Nigga really is a statue.† Monet tapped the statue, three dull clanks. â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"But he got all that money in his shoes,† P.J. said. â€Å"Well, take it, stupid,† Monet said. â€Å"Yo, step off, Monet. I’m not the one that got upstaged by a statue.† â€Å"Shut up,† Monet said. P.J. was grabbing handfuls of bills out of the Big Gulp cups at the statue’s feet and shoving them into his pockets. â€Å"Must be a G here, G.† â€Å"Yo,† Monet said. â€Å"Help me get the statue into the car.† P.J. stood and got one shoulder under the statue and tried to lift it, while Monet tucked the gun in his pants and got under the other. They dragged the statue only a couple of feet before they had to set it down and catch their breath. â€Å"Motherfucker heavy,† P.J. said. â€Å"Would you guys come on!† Fly screamed from the car, totally out of character now. â€Å"Fuck this,† Monet said. This whole thing was just too embarrassing. He’d paid rent on the gun, hadn’t he? He drew the Glock from his waistband and squeezed one off at the statue. â€Å"Shit,† P.J. said, ducking. â€Å"Are you crazy?† â€Å"Bi-atch need to learn a – † Monet’s comment was choked off. P.J. stood up and looked back. There was smoke streaming out of the bullet hole in the statue, and in the second he watched, it had formed into a hand and grabbed Monet by the throat. P.J. turned to run, but something caught the hood of his tracksuit and yanked him back off his feet. He could hear Monet gagging and choking. Then he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck and he felt suddenly light-headed. The last thing he saw was Fly peeling away in the Honda. Chapter Seventeen Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Newly Baptized Minion of the Night Bow before me, skeezy mortals, for now I see you for the pathetic little rodents that you are. Scurry before my dazzling darkness, daysters, for I am your mistress, your queen, your goddess – I have been brought into the fold – I am Abigail Von Normal, NOSFERATU, bitches! Sort of. OMG. It was so fucking cool – like coming twice with Skittles and a Coke. I was in the loft, spacing into my jams on my MP3 player. I had downloaded the latest Dead Can Dub CD (Death Boots Badonka Mix) at the Starbucks and it was totally transcendent. I was transported to an ancient Romanian castle, where everyone had done X and was dancing totally chill and sensuous (with perfect hair). I was grinding a free-form booty dance on the armchair – perfecting my dance gestalt – when I saw some smoke coming in under the door. (I can’t wait to dance with Jared to this new CD. He’s so going to love this move I do. That’s what I love about dancing with gay guys. If they get wood during a booty dance, you can just take it as a compliment, not an agenda. Jared said that if I was a guy, he would totally suck my dick. He can be so sweet.) So I pulled out one of my headphones and I was like, â€Å"Whoa, fire in the staircase – sucks to be me.† There’s only one exit, so, you know, blackened Abby coming up. But the smoke formed into a pillar, and then it started growing arms and legs. When I saw it had eyes I ran into the bedroom and shut the door. I wasn’t trippin’ or anything, just totally calm. But it wasn’t like when your friends hold your hair while you puke and tell you it’s just the drugs and you’ll be okay – so I went for the safe thing of locking the door so I could assess the situation. Then the door just ‘splodes into splinters and there’s the Countess, totally naked, standing in the doorway with the knob in her hand. And she was totally hot, except that her legs were all fucked up, like they were burned or rotted or something. So I’m all, â€Å"You totally wrecked your deposit.† And the Countess like grabs my hair and pulls me to her and bites my neck, just like that. It didn’t really hurt – it was more surprising – like you woke up from getting a root canal to find your dentist going down on you. Well, not exactly like that – more mystical. But still, surprising. (Okay, it hurt, but not as much as the time Lily tried to pierce our nipples with a compass from geometry class and an ice cube. Youch!) She smelled like burning meat, and I tried to push her away, but it was like my limbs were paralyzed or there was a fat guy sitting on me – like I was buried alive or something, just watching it happen. And then I started to get lightheaded and I thought I was going to pass out. That’s when the ho dropped me. She goes, â€Å"Go downstairs and get my clothes off the sidewalk. And make coffee.† And I’m like, Wait a minute, I just lost my mortality virginity, shouldn’t I get a cigarette and a fucking towel or something? But I just said, â€Å"Okay,† because where the Countess was all burned was healing while I watched, and it was kind of freaking me out to be looking at her naked, burned-up thighs and her totally red pubes anyway. So I went downstairs and just outside the door there was a homeless guy digging through a pile of clothes. Well, really, he was sniffing her panties. And because I don’t feel we always do enough to help the homeless, I was like, â€Å"Take them, and tell no one what you witnessed here tonight.† (I was already feeling the superiority of my Nosferatitude, so it only seemed appropriate that I go all noblesse oblige on his ass.) So off he went to sniff the lacy crotch of the undead while I went back upstairs to find coffee filters. So when I get up there the Countess is dressed and hair brushed and she’s all, â€Å"Where is Tommy? Have you seen Tommy? Did you talk to those cops? And where’s Tommy?† And I was all, â€Å"Countess, begging your pardon and shit, but you need to chill. The vampyre Flood was gone when I got here this morning, and so was that bronze statue from the other side. I thought you guys went off to sleep in the damp womb of your native soil or something.† â€Å"Yuck!† goes the Countess. Then she tightens down all of sudden. â€Å"Make me a cup of coffee, two sugars, and squeeze one of those vials of blood into it – and call us a cab.† And I was like, â€Å"Hey, step off, Countess. I’m one of you and you are not the boss of me and – â€Å" And she said, â€Å"I said for us, didn’t I?† So I did her bidding – well, our bidding, really – and we took a cab over to the Marina Safeway, but why we didn’t transform into bats and fly is beyond me. Anyway, we were there in ten minutes. But as we start to pull in, the Countess tells the driver to keep going. She was all, â€Å"It’s Rivera and Cavuto. This is not good.† The POS brown cop car was parked in front of the store. I was all, â€Å"Cops? Their shit is weak.† She seemed surprised that I knew the cops, but I told her how I had owned them like the little wussy-boys that they are and I could tell that the Countess was feeling pretty good about bringing me into the dark fold of the coven. Then she was all, â€Å"Fucking Clint – he’s telling them about Tommy.† But I couldn’t even see what she was looking at beyond the big glass front of the Safeway. I guess my powers will develop as time goes on. Five hundred years is a long time to get your vampyre kung fu down. The Countess had the driver drop us at Fort Mason, so we could still see the front of the Safeway, and we stood in the fog like the creatures of the night that we were while we waited for the cops to leave. Then the Countess put her arm around my shoulders and she was all, â€Å"Abby, I’m sorry I, uh, attacked you like that. I was hurt really badly and to heal I needed fresh blood. I wasn’t really in control of myself. It won’t happen again.† â€Å"No worries,† I told her. â€Å"I’m honored to be promoted. Besides, it was kind of hot.† Which it was, you know, except for the smell of burning flesh and stuff. And she was all, â€Å"Well, thanks for looking out for us.† And I was all, â€Å"Pardon, Countess, but why are we at the Safeway?† Because it’s not like we needed groceries. And she was all, â€Å"These guys used to work with Tommy, and one of them knows that he is, uh, one of the children of the night. I think they might know something about where he is now.† Then, over at the Safeway, we saw this goofy-looking guy with frizzy hair and glasses unlock the front door and let the cops out. They got in their car and the frizzy guy locked the front door behind them. â€Å"Showtime,† said the Countess. She zipped up her leather jacket, took a pair of sunglasses out of her jacket pocket, and put them on. She goes, â€Å"Stay back, Abby. I’ll be right back.† Then she started across the parking lot toward the Safeway, taking big strides and looking all angel of vengeance, with her red hair flying out behind her, and the lights shining down on her through the fog. I was like, â€Å"Oh shit!† She didn’t even slow down. When she got about ten feet from the front window she snatched up one of the steel-reinforced trash cans like it was made of cardboard and flung it through the window. And she just kept walking! Little cubes of safety glass rained down on her and she just walked through the front of the store like she owned it and everyone in it – which she did. Before I even got in the store, she was coming back around the corner, dragging the frizzy-haired guy by the throat. She threw him up against a rack of wine bottles, which shattered, spilling red all over the floor and splattering the registers and stuff. I was all, â€Å"Oh, dog, Countess gonna crack open a forty of whup-ass on you now. Oh, you in the shit now, wigga!† (I am not inclined to use hip-hop vernacular often, but there are times when, like French, it just better expresses the sentiment of the moment.) Just then the whole crowd of guys I’d seen in the limo came running around the corner. The Countess snatched a wine bottle off the rack, and without a second of hesitation, she threw it and it hit the first guy, a tall, hippie-looking guy, right in the middle of the forehead and he went down like he was shot. She goes, â€Å"Back!† and they all headed back around the corner the way they came, except the hippie-looking guy, who was out cold. Then the Countess picked up the guy with glasses by the throat. And even though he was like a foot taller than her, she whipped him around like a rag doll until he was screaming stuff about Satan and Jesus and telling her to get behind him and shit. And the Countess was all, â€Å"Where is Tommy?† And he was all, â€Å"I don’t know. I don’t know.† And the Countess grabbed him by the hair and held his head steady against the wine rack. Real chilly, she says, â€Å"Clint, I’m going to take your right eye now. Then if you don’t tell me where Tommy is, I’m going to take your left. Ready. On three. One†¦ Two†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then he’s all, â€Å"I didn’t have anything to do with it. She’s the spawn of Satan, I told them that.† â€Å"Three!† goes the Countess. â€Å"He’s in Lash’s apartment on Northpoint. I don’t know the number.† And the Countess just yells â€Å"Number?† out to the whole store. And the black guy pops up from behind a display of Cheerios and is all, â€Å"Six ninety-three Northpoint, Apartment 301.† And one of the other guys pulls him back down. Then the Countess is all, â€Å"Thank you. If he’s hurt, I’ll be back.† And she throws the Clint guy through a rack of Doritos, which exploded their nacho cheesy goodness all over the place. Then she’s all, â€Å"Well, that’s a nice surprise.† And I’m all, â€Å"That Lord Flood is in an apartment on Northpoint?† â€Å"I didn’t think they would really know. I just didn’t know where else to start.† â€Å"Probably your senses attuned to Lord Flood’s presence over the eons,† I said, like a total tard. And she’s all, â€Å"Let’s go, Abby.† And I don’t know why, I guess because I had like low blood sugar or something from blood loss, but I was like, â€Å"Can I get some gum?† And she was all, â€Å"Sure. Grab some coffee, too. Whole beans. We’re almost out.† So I did. And when I caught up with her, she was halfway across the parking lot, headed back toward Ghirardelli Square, and little pieces of safety glass were still shining in her hair and she smiled at me when I caught up and I just couldn’t help myself, because that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Ever! And I was all, â€Å"Countess, I love you.† And she put her arm around me and kissed me on the forehead and goes, â€Å"Let’s get Tommy.† I guess I’ll start feeling my vampyre powers tomorrow night, but right now I feel like a total fucking loser. But I am so going to rule when school starts again. How to cite You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 16~17, Essay examples

System Engineering SDLC

Question: Write about real world cases that involves organisations that used agile development and how they benefited from it as well as how some organisation failed to succeed using the agile development? Answer: 1. Introduction SDLC is the acronym of Software Development Life Cycle that consists of a series of planned activities that is used in developing the software products. SDLC aims in producing superior quality of software that meets the expectations of the customers and also completes within time as well as within estimated cost budget. There are number of SDLC models such as Waterfall Model, Iterative Model, Spiral Model, and Agile Development Model etc. that are so designed in order to produce superior software products as per the requirement of the customers. Here, each of these models has unique steps that prove both advantageous as well as failures to the different companies. In this assignment, the researcher will be dealing with Agile Software Development along with its working within different organizations. Moreover, the advantages as well as disadvantages of Agile Software Development will also be discussed followed by suitable recommendations. 1.1 Agile Software Development Agile Software Development model is a mixture of both iterative as well as incremental SDLC models that focuses on the development adaptability along with satisfaction of the customers. In Agile method, the software product is broken down into several incremental builds that are given in iterations and hence software is produced in incremental as well as rapid cycles. In this model, each of the iteration last for nearly 1-3 weeks and hence takes into account the various areas such as planning, analysis, designing, coding, testing and acceptance testing. In this model, each and every steps of the development are thereby tested in order to ensure whether the quality of the software is maintained or not. There are several Agile SDLC methodologies that includes Extreme Programming, Scrum, Lean Development, Feature-Driven Development and Dynamic Systems Development Method.Each of the agile methods is unique in nature and thereby shares core values and common vision. The Agile SDLC when deployed by an organization works on several principles such as customer satisfactory, delivery of the software frequently and change in requirements . Moreover, Agile SDLC also have principles that focuses on daily co-operation between developers and business people, simple in nature, self-organized teams and also easy adaptation of the changing circumstances. Agile model is very unique and very specific in their approach and involves continuous planning, testing and altering. Moreover in agile SDLC, the tasks are segregated into small time frames that deliver precise characteristics for a release. 1.2 Working of Agile Software Development within the organizations Agile Software Development is implemented within the organization whenever new changes need to be implemented. The new changes can easily be implemented at low cost and hence very limited planning is required in order to start the project. Agile SDLC works best in those organizations that are dynamic in nature and have the capacity to adapt the change as well as work on the newly accepted environment. Companies like SCH Group in UK previously adopted Waterfall Model that is a 4 step process that included Analysis, Design, Coding and Testing. So, SCH Group focused on the change in quality from Analysis, Designing, Coding and Testing. The detection as well as fixing is done at the end phase of the project during system as well as regression testing. In case of continual improvement, the lessons that are learnt from the previous release were implemented in the next release. Therefore, this made previous release of the software faulty and hence the new software product that is to be released may also cause arise of new problems. Hence, this became a chain process where problems are not resolved totally and hence faults are found out in every software product. SCH Group suffered problem as Waterfall Model never identifies risk and hence in the testing phase, problems arise and steps are taken for removing it. The postmortem of the software is done after the release of the product along with feedbacks is also taken after the product is released. These created huge problems to SCH Group as the product never satisfied the customers since new and changing environment helped in resolving old problems but gave rise to new problems. But when, Agile SDLC method was implemented in SCH Group, and then at any time, the focus was on the quality of all the aspects of SDLC. In order to maintain the quality, the software developers detect the faults in every sprint and fix it accordingly which is followed by stabilization. Moreover, the developers while using Agile SDLC method are also keen in learning sessions from previous sprints and thereby the learned lessons are implemented in the next sprint. This thereby makes the software product free of error and hence satisfies the customers at the time of delivery. The postmortem of the product is thereby done at the end of every sprint and presented to the customers. The customer feedbacks are also taken and hence changes in the sprints are made as per the feedback of the customers. This therefore brought success to SCH Group and hence their software products became easily acceptable by the customers. In addition to this in Waterfall model the ownership change from phase to phase and thereby role to role. The Project Manager is responsible for the whole delivery. But in contrast to this, in Agile SDLC model, the entire team is totally responsible for completion of the whole project that takes into account the analysis, designing, development, testing followed by demo. On the other hand, another example can be cited from Attenda IT Services that previously used Iterative SDLC model but got shifted to Agile SDLC model. When the company adopted Iterative Model the quality was maintained through early detection as well as fixation in order to adopt new features. This was followed by regression testing. When agile model was adopted then in order to control quality, detection and fixation of each of the sprint is done which is followed by stabilization. Moreover, previously when Attenda used Iterative model, the utilization of the resources are totally based on the requirement and need basis. But when agile method was implemented, then everybody in the team was ready to complete any part of it for completing the product successfully. Previously, when Attenda utilized Iterative Model, then minimum number of the resources worked on the analysis as well as design part of the product. The rest resources were engaged on coding as well as testing process. In contrast to this in case of agile method, the whole team is subdivided into small teams where each and every team is totally focused on the completion of all the aspects. Other than this, in case of regression testing, the partial coverage is done during iteration and full coverage is done at the time of stabilization. But in contrast to this when Agile SDLC model was initiated in Attenda, and then the full coverage was done within the sprint. At the time of completion in case of Iterative mode, the Definition of Done (DOD) the analysis and design are done in one phase and development and testing were done in another phase. But in disparity when Attenda used agile model, then DOD is measured by its capability, demonstration as well as delivery to the outside world. Apart from this, the researcher also focused on the failures of the Agile SDLC Model where some of the giant companies like Google have pointed out. Agile SDLC lifecycle is short termed as well as not at all suitable in handling the complex dependencies. Moreover, there are more risks that are comprised of sustainability, maintainability as well as extensibility. Other than this, the agile model is more or less micromanagement in nature. It takes a lot of time in testing each of the sprints and lags behind the time of delivering the products to the respective customers. In addition to this, in Agile Model, it has high charge of false positive rates those trends to turn the good workers into low performers. Google also has mentioned that this model punishes the RD team and therefore hurts the best of best engineers at the same time. This is because, here, there is no room to fail nor have any space to experiment. Kofax had initially undertaken Agile SDLC Model that proved to be a disaster to the company. This is because, since, Kofax is a large company; its projects are comparatively large and complex. So, when Agile Model was used in this, it was seen that the model failed in handling the complex projects. Moreover, since this model strongly depends on the customer feedback and interaction at the end of each of the sprint, so it sometimes proves to be a disaster if client is not clear of the specifications. In addition to this, the model is highly dependent on individuals and hence there is a nominal requirement of documentation. For this reason, new technologies are not transferred to the new team member that later proves quite challenging in carrying out the other projects. Another example can be cited from the company named Micro Focus where implementation of agile model was a failure and needed immediate attention in order to change the model. Though the model involves active user involvement and close collaboration, but it is also necessary to complete the work in specific and given time period. As a result, the agile model fails to deliver the software products in given period of time. Agile requirements are not at sufficient enough and thereby eliminate the effort that is wasted on the deliverables that do not last. Again, since testing is integrated throughout the product lifecycle, the risks of failures reduce which also reduces of exploring new ideas. The cost also increases and hence fresh ideas are never explored that leads to the unexpected increase in time limit. For these reasons, this model failed in Micro Focus since usage of these models made the completion of the products unpredictable as well as increase in cost. 1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile Software Development There are several advantages and disadvantages of Agile SDLC model and thereby brought success and failures to different companies when they adapted this model. From the advantageous point of view, one can say that Agile SDLC model is quite transparent that takes into account the resource types as well as resource dedication. This model promotes the business value primarily and gives emphasizes on the functionalities. Moreover, this model also promotes a huge communication between the clients and development team. The collaborative effort of all the team members while completing the software product is one of the greatest strength of this model. Moreover, this model is highly flexible, easily manageable and very less planning is required that makes the model quite advantageous to use. Other than this, the resource requirements are also minimum, acceptance of easy changes and rapid demonstration of the changes also helps organization adopt this model and succeed in using it. On the other hand, disadvantages of this model that brings disadvantage to the model are that emphasis on designing and documentation are lacking. Moreover, the project also sometimes gets tracked off if the customers are not clear on their requirement side. In addition to this, this lifecycle is quite a complicated sales cycle that involves a long time completion of the project along with expenditure of quite a good sum of money. Other than this, the senior programmers are only efficient and capable of taking such kind of decisions that are essential at the time of development. As a result, this model gives no scope to the new programmers to handle the project or work independently. So, flow of fresh ideas is also not flowing within the project completion. Moreover, the clients have different backgrounds and products as well as different learning curves. But application of this model makes the learning curve constant and hence, same methods ate pallid to all the products regardless of the learning of the customers. 1.4 Recommendations As per the advantages and disadvantages, successes and failures that the researcher has discussed in this context, several recommendations can also be done to minimize the effects of the cons of this model. Scopes need to be given in order to explore the new ideas which if failed gives new ways of success. Other than this, the new programmers also need to be given scope to explore the model in order to free flow the new and innovative ways. Moreover, the model should also spend less on testing at every sprint and complete the project in time. This will save both expenditure of money as well as will also save time. Interaction with the clients is necessary but that also should be in limit. Whenever the programmers will be seeing that the customers are not clear of the product and going off the track, it is their responsibility to bring them n track and make them understand what wrong in their idea. 1.5 Conclusion This assignment deals with the Agile Software Development Cycle that is a perfect combo of both iterative model and incremental model that have both pros and cons. The pros are that it is highly transparent, communicable and promotes teamwork as well as cross training. Other than this, this model is easily managed, highly flexible and requires less planning. Therefore, these advantages bring success to the organizations. On the other hand, the several disadvantages are time consuming as well as depend heavily on the individuals. Since, this process takes a long time in both testing and correction, possible risks are not at all taken that also leads to no-flow of knowledge. Moreover this process also consumes a lot of money while correcting the mistakes after every sprint. References Abdul M and Shahanawaj D, 'Managing Knowledge In Development Of Agile Software' (2011) 2 IJACSA Aziz N and Abdullah R, 'An Ontological Model Of Experience-Based Knowledge Management In Agile Software Development Environment' (2015) 3 LNSE Buragga K and Zaman N, Software Development Techniques For Constructive Information Systems Design (Information Science Reference 2013) Carnevali L, Ridi L and Vicario E, 'Putting Preemptive Time Petri Nets To Work In A V-Model SW Life Cycle' (2011) 37 IIEEE Trans. Software Eng. Feitelson D, 'Perpetual Development: A Model Of The Linux Kernel Life Cycle' (2012) 85 Journal of Systems and Software Franky M, 'Agile Management And Development Of Software Projects Based On Collaborative Environments' (2011) 36 SIGSOFT Softw. Eng. Notes Ganpatrao Sabale R, 'Comparative Study Of Prototype Model For Software Engineering With System Development Life Cycle' (2012) 02 IOSRJEN Greer D and Hamon Y, 'Agile Software Development' (2011) 41 Software: Practice and Experience Hoda R, Noble J and Marshall S, 'Documentation Strategies On Agile Software Development Projects' (2012) 1 International Journal of Agile and Extreme Software Development Janus A, 'Towards A Common Agile Software Development Model (ASDM)' (2012) 37 SIGSOFT Softw. Eng. Notes Kruchten P, 'Contextualizing Agile Software Development' (2011) 25 J. Softw.: Evol. and Proc. Mahmood Z and Saeed S, Software Engineering Frameworks For The Cloud Computing Paradigm (Springer 2013) Mandal S, Kandar S and Ray P, 'Open Incremental Model A Open Source Software Development Life Cycle Model 'OSDLC'' (2011) 21 International Journal of Computer Applications Misra S and Singh V, 'Conceptualizing Open Agile Software Development Life Cycle (OASDLC) Model' (2015) 32 Int J Qual Reliability Mgmt Oshana R and Kraeling M, Software Engineering For Embedded Systems (Newnes 2013) R.Raval R and M Rathod H, 'Improvements In Agile Model Using Hybrid Theory For Software Development In Software Engineering' (2014) 90 International Journal of Computer Applications Rivero J and others, 'Mockup-Driven Development: Providing Agile Support For Model-Driven Web Engineering' (2014) 56 Information and Software Technology Santos V, Goldman A and de Souza C, 'Fostering Effective Inter-Team Knowledge Sharing In Agile Software Development' [2014] Empirical Software Engineering Wysocki R, Effective Project Management (Wiley 2012) Zhang Y and Patel S, 'Agile Model-Driven Development In Practice' (2011) 28 IEEE Softwarw.

Wacos At Waco Essays - Waco Siege, Apocalypticism, Adventism

Wacos At Waco In studying millenarian movements many theories have attempted to explain the behavior of past groups who believe the end of the world is soon approaching. Historically, these accounts have been brought to light mostly by second-hand accounts. Yet these movements have continued until the present day, allowing us to collect information about similar millenarian movements through current observations, and comparing them with the societies, events, and people who led these movements in the past. As the year 2000 approaches, the words millennium, antichrist, and Armageddon have become commonplace in our every day lives. While this happening, we are made aware of this shift in our cultural conciseness and compare current movements to past theories of millenarianism in order to better understand the place these beliefs hold in our culture. The fateful events that revealed David Koresh to the world are exciting because the Waco disaster was similar to historical events and enhanced our unde rstanding of what is known about millennial groups. The harshness of the events that occurred there are worth noting for more than their sensationalism. (A)The Waco events demonstrated how our government reacts to movements it sees as threatening to the social norm, and resulted in such dire consequences as to suggest that all the studies that have been done on millenarianism up until now are not considered deeply enough. (B)The available literature on the Waco events also suggests that the prophet status held by David Koresh in relation to the group was powerful enough to overcome societal pressures to conform to more acceptable beliefs. (C)Finally, the Waco believers ultimately had a marked political effect that draws more conservative believers to hold fast to their millennial beliefs. Waco movement had political impact- gained suspicion from government, had power to arouse fear- Why?***Second point to discuss. Such as: the role of prophets in the ___ movement.***why power- was d ue to prophet status given by group to Koresh explain how he gave strength and power to affect government to this movement- lead to society***Third point to discuss. Such as: The relationship of the groups millennial ideas and dogma to social change.***waco movement was able to cause social change-why leader, power, resistance ,disillusionment of members in current society about there way of life(hopeless)*** Several biblical experts were called onto the seen during the conflict at Waco. One of these experts, James Tabor wrote his account of the happenings at Waco. In his article Religious Discourse and Failed Negotiations, The Dynamics of Biblical Apocalypticism at Waco asserts that the government reacted to the actions of David Koresh without taking into account what he was truly trying to accomplish. If this was seriously considered, according to the observations of James Tabor, the conflict at Waco could have been resolved without the harsh actions of the BATF.. Initial live interviews with Koresh were very revealing if studied. Koresh believed himself to be the Christ that would be able to interpret the seven scrolls referred to in the bible as one of the events preceding the end of the world. The government approached the situation as a hostage rescue situation, when infect they were acting out the beliefs that Koresh was teaching would occur before the end of the world. The thing t hat the government had missed was that no one in the compound had in the past or the present perceived themselves to be a hostage of Koresh, instead the did feel themselves hostages of the U.S. government. The government reacted to Koresh and his followers violently because thy perceived him to be an insane con-artist with no chance of changing his views. The way Koresh spoke contributed to this, but why was he seen to be such a threat as to allow the government to deal with him with such extreme force? The ability of Koresh to be a charismatic leader allowed him to surpass the authority of many traditional forms of authority. Max Weber characterizes this type of authority as a certain quality of an individual or personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but

The alchemist and the odyssey essays

The alchemist and the odyssey essays In the Odyssey and The Alchemist there are many dangers and challenges that the two heroes must brave. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus who fought in the Trojan war for ten years. After the war was over Odysseus years tries to find his way home to Ithaca but it takes him ten years to do so, because the gods dont exactly like him. In the Alchemist there is a young man named Santiago who has a dream about treasure. He eventually pursues his dream and in the end finds out that there really is no treasure. The books are about someone finding their place in the world or finding their way home. A reason is that in both books they are trying to find their way home. Another is that at the end of their journeys they both have someone their waiting for them. Also both the characters in both the stories both have and end destinations. At the end of the Alchemist, Santiago finds out that the treasure was the journey itself. In the Odyssey the whole book is about Odysseus trying to find his way home to his family and to his island. Though there are many obstacles that they both must overcome. One obstacle that Santiago over came was that soon after Santiago landed in Africa he met a thief who stole all his money but Santiago managed to get by, by working for a crystal merchant. Also in the Odyssey Odysseus was faced with many challenges by the gods that in the end he managed to overcome. Once Odysseus was going to sail by the island of the sirens, so he stuffed his soldiers ears with bees wax and had them tie him to a sail on his ship. At the end of both of their journeys there is someone waiting for them. In the Alchemist at the end of Santiagos journey there is a man there who makes him realize that the journey was the treasure. He makes Santiago realize this by telling him that he had a dream about a treasure being buried under a tree in a church where shepherds sleep. In the Odyssey waiting for Odysseus ...

Police Brutality. Is it increasing or is it all media hype Research Paper

Police Brutality. Is it increasing or is it all media hype - Research Paper Example Study results show more brutality among the minority and powerless in the population (Busby, 2001). A brief overview of police brutality Brutal police officers rationalize extralegal force claiming to punish the law breakers. Police officers except citizens differ from them always. Challenge by citizens is unofficial crime and police use physical force in eliciting the compliance. Many nations in the world formulate laws addressing the police brutality. Human rights organizations receive many complaints on use of excessive force by the police. Failure to prevent police brutality corresponds to the insular police culture. Most obvious police brutality is physical and verbal abuse. Many nations attempting legislating police brutality formulate laws on minority profiling (Tonry, 2008). Amnesty International (AI) on the American Police Brutality The major theme of AI campaigns is the police brutality in using excessive force. The rights for all indexes reflect the police beatings, danger ous restraint techniques and unjustified shootings. Harassment disproportionately affects the minority based on races and ethnic groups. Various incidents cited by AI reflect unjustified practices of police misconduct. Despite restrictions on use of excessive force, the police officers in US use excessive force indiscriminately; police officers kill citizens through shootings. Nevertheless, criminal charges to the few officers remain untried. This systematically hides the abuse and causes persistence of the impunity. Reports by local media rarely reflect scandals on police brutality. The footage on the dramatic increase in negative actions by police officers perpetuates negative attitudes among the citizens (Tonry, 2008). Police Brutality Excessive use of force by police officers is brutality. It is a practice that disregards the status of citizens, restricts their freedom, annoys and harasses them, and uses unwarranted physical force. It is citizens’ judgment on failure of t reatment with the full rights and dignity by the police officers within the democratic society. The categories of complaints by the citizens concerning police brutality include excessive force and the abuse of the police power (Holmes, 2000). Despite the variation in estimates, incidences of the brutality by police are infrequent. Use of excessive force affects both the police officers and the citizens subjected to the force. Many riots result from misconceptions by the citizens on misuse of force by the police. The 1919 riots following the arrest of Rodney King in Chicago reflect public conception of the misuse of force by the police officers. After his release from custody six months before, Rodney King’s attack depicted the brutality of the police officers. Police officers pursued him in a chance deployment; police cars and helicopter chased after him (Busby, 2001). When he surrendered, police officers surrounded him in a semi circle. Contradicting reports rose up regardin g what happened afterwards. According to the police, King tried to stand up when handcuffed, he reached for the pocket of his pants making officers suspect and fear any weapon. However, reports from witnesses were extremely different from the officers’. Rodney reported of electrocution and handcuffing by the police officers. Citizens air complaints of racism and brutality among the police. One among the four officers beating Rodney King had time and again used excessive force on the citizens. Other

Egyptian Style Rendering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Egyptian Style Rendering - Assignment Example The creativity aspect of Egyptian art is evident in the variety of art created with some seemingly contradicting one another. However, with in art symbolism always plays a major role and it depends on how a particular piece of art is interpreted and the contradictions may be a way of concealing the deeper meanings. Figure 1 shows an example of an ancient Egyptian drawing of a god. An analysis of the drawing will bring out some key characteristics of Egyptian art. Figure 1 Essence of the Drawing An important aspect of ancient Egyptian art was to bridge the gap between mortals and the gods and to improve the understanding of the mortals of the gods. The drawing in figure 1 shows an Egyptian god depicted by the fact that it has the head of an animal. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads did not essentially refer to physical animals but depicted spiritual animals that were considered to have godly statures (2012). For instance, the Egyptian god Anubis is always depicted as having t he head of a jackal. The drawing in figure 1 was meant to educate Egyptians on religious belief and to instill in them a feeling of awe towards the gods. Despite the fact that the drawing has a human body, it is evident that the head is that one of a spiritual animal. The use of animal heads was also important in drawing to create a distinction between mortals and gods. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads in ancient art had roots in the perception of human beings with regard to certain animals. Aloi continues to outline that different animals aroused different perceptions in different cultures and this is evident in how different cultures use animals differently in their respective works of art. However, one common aspect in the use of animals in art was that there was a deeper meaning of a feeling that the work of art intended to portray and arouse. Therefore, the drawing was created to show all Egyptians that it was of a god and to consolidate the powers of the kings of Egy pt especially immediately after the introduction of the kingship. According to Frankfort (1978), in the Egyptian Heirarchical system the Kings closely followed the gods and were even sometimes accorded godly statuses. Frankfort outlines that before the kingship period in Egypt the depiction of gods in works of art was not very common. However, after the introduction of the kingship Egyptians artists began showing interest in the depiction of gods. The fact that the gods were supposed to be held in high esteem and awe also meant that the kings were to be given an almost similar position. The work of art was meant to ensure that kings immediately after the introduction of kingship were able to consolidate power against foreign and domestic opposition. This is depicted by the fact that Egyptians worshipped their kings and other neighboring communities were afraid of the Egyptian kings. The Value of the Drawing The depiction of a god in any drawing was always aimed at bringing out some important aspect of life after death in the Egyptian culture. The gods assured Egyptians that there was in deed life after death and that they were not to be afraid of dying but rather look forward to it (Frankfort, 1978). Man has always been disturbed by what happens after one dies bringing into perspectives aspects such as religion, gods and reincarnation. The Egyptians were not exceptions considering that calamities

The importance of accounting information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The importance of accounting information - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of accounting as the process of â€Å"identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions† by the users of the information. Hence accounting information is very useful to its various users as it helps them to make informed and calculated decisions. All stakeholders of an organization including the shareholders are potential users of accounting information. Following are some of the user of this information: decision makers inside the organization (such as the directors, managers, etc.), employees, shareholders, customers, lenders, shareholders, suppliers, etc. Traditionally anybody who is interested in the activities and performance of an organization is a stakeholder. Accounting information is useful to different users in a different way. Accounting information such as cash inflows, expenses, fixed assets, liabilities, operating profits, can be used by decision makers inside an o rganization to make critical decisions such as future investments, pricing strategies, expansion plans, etc. Employees of an organization can use accounting information to analyze the financial and commercial success of a company and in turn understand the security with respect to the job that the organization promises. Lenders and suppliers can use the information to analyze the financial health of the company before lending loans and materials to the organizations.

Conflict Observation and Analysis

Conflict Observation and Analysis Conflict Analysis Part 1: Observe an instance that you are not personally involved with where conflict is present (you will need to be a bit of a covert operator to accomplish this). Answer the following: In several detailed paragraphs, describe the conflict scene. 1a. Who was involved in the conflict? What was the relationship between the participants prior to the conflict? Did it appear as if the relationship between the participants had any impact on how either person responded to the conflict? I decided to pay a visit to my aunt and uncle one day. They own their own business and they run it out of their home. I pulled into their driveway and proceeded to enter their house, when I overhead a loud argument coming from another room. An employee was arguing with my aunt, who owns the business. My aunt and uncle are both co-owners, the employee decided to play both sides against one another. She basically asked my aunt for something work related and my aunt said no, so the employee decided to go behind her back and ask my uncle without informing him that his wife had already said no. My aunt was livid that the employee went behind her back, since she has just as much pull as my uncle does. She felt it was really dishonest and disrespectful. I feel that the relationship between the two participants was civil at one point, but as the argument escalated, the trust was gone and was never to be regained. My uncle is a smart man, he told the employee that he needed to discuss it with his wife before he can grant any permissions. At the end of the day, the employee was issue a warning and as far as I know, she has never overstepped her boundaries since. 1b. When and where did it take place? Was it formal or informal? Planned or unplanned? What impact did the location and time have on the outcome? The argument took place in the basement of their home, where they have their home based business setup. The date was Monday, September 15th, 2014, the time was roughly 8:30 am. The argument seemed to be unplanned by the employee, because up until that point, she wasnt aware that she had gotten caught and was in trouble. On the other hand, the argument seemed to be planned or premeditated by my aunt who seemed to be waiting for the employee to arrive that morning to give her a piece of her mind. The impact of the argument, caused a decreased moral in the work environment and in my opinion should have not taken place during business hours. I feel that this matter should have been taken care of outside of the work place, after hours, or during a staff meeting and not while the office was open for business and other employees were present. This was not a formal argument, I feel both parties were wrong in the ways that they acted or went about handling the matters at hand, but if I had to choose, I would say that the employee was more to blame for the escalated argument because it was her actions that started this issue.. 1c. What transpired? (Be specific.) Many times when we face conflict, there is a surface-level problem and an underlying problem. The surface-level problem acts only as a symptom of the real problem. Consider both. 1d. What was the surface problem? The surface level problem seemed to be distrust and dishonesty. The fact that there was lying and conniving behavior present in the workplace was sure to cause a domino effect if it wasnt resolved. The surface level problem also presented issues not only related to the business, but also between my aunt and uncle as a married couple. This type of issue could potentionally cause an argument between the business owners who are also married to one another, so it would directly affect both their professional as well as their personal lives. 1e. What was the underlying problem, or the real problem? If this is unclear, what might you speculate the real problem to be? There are many conflict management strategies that can be employed when dealing with conflict. Consider which were present in this conflict. The underlying problem in this circumstance was proven to be the fact that the employee overstepped her boundaries by going behind both owners backs and acting in a shady manner. She was fully aware that she was being dishonest, but all she was concerned about is getting her own way and she didnt care how she got it. Again, the employees actions and dishonesty is what led to this argument and unnecessary drama. 1f. Which conflict management strategies were employed by each of the participants? Did the conflict management strategies change during the course of the conversation? How do you know? There was no type of conflict management strategies utilized. Both parties yelled and screamed at one another. My aunt made accusations and the employee denied everything and made excuses, They basically sat there pointing fingers at one another and getting verbally louder as the argument carried on. I know this, because I heard most of the argument and then happened to walk right in the middle of it as it was taking place. I am actually surprised that it did not become physical, because at one point, it looked as if that is where it was headed. 1g. What was the outcome? Was there a winner? A loser? Did there appear to be an impact on the relationship? If so, what was that impact? The outcome pretty much reached a stalemate as my aunt was the accuser and the employee was the accuse, The employee denied everything and swore up and down that she didnt do anything wrong. There was no proof, just a case of he said she said stories. I would like to say that there didnt seem to be a winner, but at the end of the day my aunt issued the employee a written warning for tardiness and misconduct, so I guess she is declared as the winner. The relationship between the two of them has determinate rapidly and they no longer communicate or associate with one another as they used to. They are really distant from one another and they strictly has a no nonsense work relationship now. 1h. Looking back, describeat least two variables that could be changed in this scene to alter the outcome. Conflict Analysis Part 2: Much of the learning in this course requires you to draw conclusions about your experiences and observations based on the concepts we have read about and discussed. Take this into consideration: First, I think that if my aunt did not approach the employee in an aggressive manner, the issue may have been resolved in a more rationally, responsibly, and mature manner. Second, if the employee would just respect what her superiors say and not overstep her boundaries this all could have been avoided. 2a., 2b. List two specific things you learned about conflict as a result of this exercise. Reference material from the text, discussions, lecture, terminal course objectives, and so forth. Answersthat demonstrate application of the course material and effective critical thinking will earn the greatestnumber of points. Your submission should be approximately one page in length: one paragraph per item for 1a.–1h., and 2a. and 2b.

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay -- Social Responsibility Essays

Contemporary business is one of the most important factors to promote social development and six elements have significant influence on it. They are corporate social responsibility, technological paradigm shifts, financial market, legislation, environment issues and business ethics. Corporate social responsibility is called CSR for short. The definition of CSR is companies should be responsible for suppliers, costumers, environment and community besides earn profit and responsible for their shareholders. The core of CSR is protecting their employees, including not discrimination, respect different culture. Technological paradigm shifts reflect social development. There are three industrial revolutions in history. Each of them bring science and technology progress rapidly and that has given a powerful propel to the productive force of the world and business, economic and social development of humanity. Comprehensive financial market systems consist of securities market, discount marke t; insurance market a foreign exchange market, finance and business are independent and mutually primitive. Government makes legislation in order to ensure the interests of citizens are protected. Legislation related many filed such as business, environment, and public services. Environment issues are big problems for modern society. Environment involves many fields, for instance business. Most companies pay much attention on business ethics. Because good business ethics is the basis of cooperation .If companies lost business ethics that means they lost company loyalty. As people all know if companies cannot manage their business with integrity or treat their clients and vendors without respect, they won’t earn partners trust and establish unbreakable ... ...distillation, desalination and ultraviolet disinfection [10]. And Reengineering solutions to global warming are receiving ever more attention, and for good reason. Science reported that top U.S. climate scientists gathered at Harvard this month to explore ways reengineering might lower the global temperature. Mimicking the natural cooling effects of volcanic eruptions by releasing massive amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere is one idea. Another is to increase the planet's reflectivity by spraying seawater on ocean clouds or floating shiny Mylar balloons into low-Earth orbit [11]. At present environmental issues are regarded by all the countries and it is a subject very worthy to be studied. People try their best to find the best way to solve these issues. That is not only benefit for nature, but also good for sustained development of human society. ..